The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection seeks applications for a new matching funds grant program through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, initiative. The matching grant program is a component of the department’s Climate Resilience Fund, which helps communities to invest in projects needed to address vulnerabilities to extreme weather and lower impacts to critical infrastructure. The BRIC program is one of the largest sources of funding for projects that make communities more resilient, providing grants of up to $50 million. The department will award between one and three quarters of a project’s non-federal match requirements, with larger awards for projects that benefit environmental justice communities and incorporate nature-based solutions.

The Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission will hold in-person hearings to receive comments on proposed rules and regulations for the environmental review, permitting, and siting of major renewable energy and transmission projects in New York under the Renewable Action through Project Interconnection and Deployment, or RAPID, Act passed last year. Among other things, the RAPID Act authorizes the office, in consultation with the Department of Public Service and subject to approval by the Public Service Commission, to establish rules and regulations to implement the new siting permit program for major electric transmission facilities established by the act. Virtual hearings will be held on March 11. 24-M-0433

The New York Public Service Commission will hold a meeting of the electric vehicle infrastructure interconnection working group to discuss comments regarding modifications to a straw proposal on streamlining vehicle-to-grid queue management in the EV make-ready program. The proposal aims to facilitate a supportive process for make-ready applicants from first contact with a utility to EV station energization. The working group was formed to identify, discuss, and resolve the technical barriers and challenges associated with the EV interconnection process, including queue management and EV-specific standardized interconnection requirements.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities will hold an in-person meeting of a working group to resume its review of competitive retail electricity market rules after pausing the proceeding for more than two years. Originally initiated in 2019, the proceeding aimed to strengthen residential customer protections related to the marketing and delivery of competitive suppliers’ products. The department halted its review, citing the need for more time to evaluate proposed modifications to certain initiatives and to conserve limited resources, given the likelihood of significant legislative action to reform the retail competitive market. However, with no legislative action taken over time, the department now finds it appropriate to resume the proceeding and explore measures to enhance customer protections. In January, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office reported that consumers who enrolled with competitive electric suppliers incurred $651.3 million in net losses over nine years compared to basic service rates. 19-07

The Washington Department of Ecology will hold its ninth quarterly carbon auction, which will offer 2025 vintage allowances, or current allowances, totaling about 7.3 million. No future allowances will be offered. A summary report is expected to be released on March 12. The last auction, held in December, saw a rebound, with current allowances clearing at a price 35 percent higher than the September auction. This uptick followed voter rejection of Initiative 2117, a ballot measure that sought to repeal the 2021 Climate Commitment Act, which established the program, a key component of the state’s efforts to achieve emission limits set in law and progress toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Washington is discussing a potential agreement to form a shared carbon market with California and Quebec.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is due to receive comments on Plum Creek Wind Farm LLC’s request for amendments to site and route permits issued by the commission to build a 414-megawatt wind project and an associated 345 kilovolt transmission line in Cottonwood, Murray, and Redwood counties. The amendments include an extension of the construction commencement date, to allow construction to begin by Sept. 25, 2027, and changes to turbine models in certain locations to replace previously decided models that are no longer available in North America. In 2021, the commission granted permits approving the project and in 2023 approved an extension to the construction commencement date. CN-18-699

The North Dakota Public Service Commission will hold a public hearing to discuss Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s request for a siting permit to construct a 345-kilovolt transmission line in Mercer, McLean, Ward, Mountrail, and Williams Counties. The project, selected by Southwest Power Pool as part of the 2021 Interregional Transmission Planning process, is estimated to cost $317 million and span approximately 162 miles. The project aims to mitigate reliability constraints and increase load serving capability around the north side of Lake Sakakawea.